All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

An assortment of genres hit the DSi this week. Let's see how Ramsey stands up against some cute animals.

We're back! You missed us, right? Right???

While we're camped out right next to them, we won't be liveblogging the entirety of Sony's mostly-not-game-related 2010 CES press conference - we'll leave that duty in the capable hands of our friends at Engadget. Head over there to follow along minute by minute or stick around at the 'stiq while we break off just the tastiest bits of gaming news for you here. Either way, you're the big winner. Engadget - Live from Sony's CES 2010 press event

This is always a fun topic that causes a lot of controversy. Direct Link and Link (Thanks newbs!)

Virtual arcade to be the destination for retro games.

In a recent sales projection sent to Joystiq centering around GameStop, everyone's favorite games analyst, Michael Pachter, offered some viewpoints on December sales for GameStop, taking care to also paint his own portrait on industry sales as a whole for 2010. He points to Modern Warfare 2 and hardware sales (thanks, price drops!) as top earners for GameStop. Pachter is hopeful for 2010, expecting a full-on rebound in game sales starting January. He points to the great exodus of fourth quarter 2009 as a factor behind the increased game sales, with first quarter releases of Bioshock 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Army of Two: The 40th Day mentioned as expected top earners. He says this uptick in sales will benefit GameStop, which he surmises will have about 30 percent share of the software market in January -- something that will insulate against what he expects to be a year of gradual decline in Wii hardware sales.

It's not too late for Microsoft and Epic to follow the Bungie path.

Are you ready to get your violence on?

We've got the latest details on the upcoming expansion pack.

Sony's European team has sent out a survey to some of its UK PSN members asking them yet again about possible subscription models for the service. The survey is run by a market research company called Ipsos, and appears to offer up a list of possible member benefits for a few different plan tiers, along with pricing for each. The benefits range from more tame ideas like exclusive and early access to content to more interesting options like "free title trials" (first hour of a game for free), user-to-user challenges, "token wagering" and a service called "catch-up TV." Oh, and since it's Sony we're talking about, there's even a listed option for "cloud storage space for games." You can find the full list of possible features after the jump. The price options differ from plan to plan, but they go as cheap as £2.99 (about $5 U.S.) up to £14.99 (about $25) for monthly fees, with annual fees also listed for 55% less than you'd pay month to month (so around £19.99 up to £99.99, or $32 to $160). Note that just because all of these things are on a survey doesn't mean that Sony has them up and running -- it only means that they're testing the water in terms of what UK members are willing to pay for certain features. But you can just add this to the growing mountain of evidence that Sony is planning some sort of premium subscription service. [Thanks Marc and everyone who sent this in!]

Capcom brings new game demos, new promotions and new events to kick off 2010.

U.S. gamers looking to get their grubby mitts on that ridiculously ornate version of Heavy Rain won't, it turns out. One of SCEA's reps confirmed to VG247 that the pricier version won't make the trip across the pond. We're so sorry to upset you with this news, but feel quite fine saving your wallet's soul: money. Sadly, SCEA wasn't willing to offer anything on a U.S. release date for the game proper, something we've all been waiting on since retailers pointed to potential Japanese and European release dates. Come on, guys! Throw us a bone we can actually chew on here!

Direct link and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 here (thanks Playstati0nNetwork!)

U.S. gamers looking to get their grubby mitts on that ridiculously ornate version of Heavy Rain won't, it turns out. One of SCEA's reps confirmed to VG247 that the pricier version won't make the trip across the pond. We're so sorry to upset you with this news, but feel quite fine saving your wallet's soul: money. Sadly, SCEA wasn't willing to offer anything on a U.S. release date for the game proper, something we've all been waiting on since retailers pointed to potential Japanese and European release dates. Come on, guys! Throw us a bone we can actually chew on here!

[Update, 5:30pm: And off comes the rumor tag! Microsoft may have pulled the post but the original video is still live on their own servers, which you can find right here! We'll scrub through it for more information.] Microsoft's Channel 9 developer community site accidentally posted a video interview with Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment & Devices Division, several hours before the company's annual CES press conference. Initially tweeted by @ch9, the video was pulled, as evidenced by this tweet from none other than @microsoft: "Sorry, spoke too soon, or, tweeted too soon. This video later tonight." A vigilant tipster wrote us just after the video was pulled, giving us a quick breakdown. "Go to the 11:53 mark in the video to hear them start discussing Game Room," our tipster writes. "They aren't totally concrete on the details, but they talk about how this is supposed to bring back that retro fun to gaming." That sounds an awful lot like that consumer survey we spotted in October for a virtual Avatar arcade, one of the potential titles of which was "Game Room." You don't say ... Our tipster also unsurprisingly reports, "In the video they confirm Natal is on for this year." Considering everyone from Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot to Microsoft's own Steve Ballmer have alluded to a 2010 release, we're not the least bit surprised. But if they're still calling it Project Natal in this video, that means we're probably looking to E3 for an official reveal, with branding and all. Microsoft's CES keynote begins at 9:30pm Eastern and we'll be delivering all the news straight from Las Vegas.

This is what it looks like.

And we're back!

SEGA is trying to get some attention on Sands of Destruction by posting up character spotlight features. Hit the links below to learn a little more about the characters that play important roles in Sands of Destruction.

Fix up houses without the physical labor with Fix It: Home Improvement Challenge!

Meet the lively bunch who will guide you on your quest in Dungeon Fighter Online.

It's Full Metal Mayhem on the go.

Auction here Sega Sonic Sega - light display - video game store sign Nintendo World Class Service Plastic Sign Vintage Vintage 1998 Nintendo Super Mario Display Marquee Nintendo NES Cheetahmen II 2 box GameCube demo disc collection (not eBay)

Maybe, "if you love intense close-range combat," you should be looking elsewhere to release your pent-up rage. However, if you love intense close-range combat using an extremely tactical power -- and don't mind taking breaks for drawn-out conversation -- then perhaps Mass Effect 2's Vanguard combat class fits well with your particular proclivities. Still not clicking? Have you tried the Engineer? He, uh, fixes stuff ... with his killer robots.

A portion of a Siliconera review… After playing this, I’m even more eager to see how the “Somebodies” come into play, seeing as they’re appearing in the upcoming game, as well as what role Venitus (Ven) plays in his dealings with the apprentices. Heck, I’m interested in seeing the whole fall of Ansem and his [...]

Lords Online arrives and hopes to define the Strategy RPG genre once and for all.